As IYC 2011 nears its end, the Belgian National Committee for Chemistry will host closing ceremonies in Brussels on Thursday, Dec. 1. The ceremonies will include addresses by EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation & Science Máire Geoghegan-Quin and by IUPAC President Nicole Moreau; a presentation by Andrew Liveris, President, Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical on “The world in 2050: our expectations from the life sciences, chemistry, industry and governments to build a better world by 2050”; responses from 2009 Chemistry Nobel Laureate Ada Yonath and 1997 Francqui Prize recipient Jean-Luc Bredas; a roundtable panel discussion; and concluding remarks by Kurt Bock, CEO of BASF. You can register to attend at the ceremonies’...

It’s not only still the International Year of Chemistry, but it’s also National Chemistry Week! Yippee! Chemists are celebrating chemistry with students of all ages this week in lots of ways, but especially with hands-on demonstrations. The rest of the year, however, many public school teachers struggle to teach their students chemistry because they lack basic resources due to poor funding. Can you imagine a chemistry class without chemicals or beakers or a periodic table poster? CENtral Science is participating in the fantastic DonorsChoose Science Bloggers for Students campaign to help raise funds for public school classrooms in need of resources. CENtral Science is, naturally, focusing on the chemistry-related projects. And some of the requests are heartbreakingly basic, such as one from a teacher in Florida in need of thermometers, flasks, stopwatches, and beakers for her students. Another teacher of high-risk students wants to provide lab coats for his AP Chemistry class. Lots of other projects can be found at the CENtral Science giving page. Terra Sigillata is also participating in the campaign. You can see the projects David is supporting on his “Chemistry With Kroll” page. Any amount you can give, whether it be $5 or $100, will make a difference for and be appreciated by these students who are trying and eager to learn chemistry. Let’s give back to our communities and help teachers get what they need to teach chemistry. What better way is there to celebrate National Chemistry Week and IYC...

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The Safety Zone covers chemical safety issues in academic and industrial research labs and in manufacturing. It is intended to be a forum for exchange and discussion of lab and plant safety and accident information without the fanfare of a news article.